1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-stimulus illumination apparatus.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-172898, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventionally known microscope apparatus including a light-stimulus illumination apparatus is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,300.
The light-stimulus illumination apparatus in this microscope apparatus includes a light source for emitting light-stimulus laser light and a galvanometer mirror for two-dimensionally scanning the light-stimulus laser light emitted from the light source.
The galvanometer mirror, however, adjusts the scanning position of the light-stimulus laser light by adjusting the rotation angle of a mirror. Therefore, when applying the light stimulus to regions that are separated from each other, some time is required to move from one region to another region.
In addition, the scanning of the light-stimulus laser light by the galvanometer mirror is performed continuously by the rotary operation of the galvanometer mirror. Therefore, when applying the light stimulus to regions that are separated from each other, the light-stimulus laser light is unavoidably radiated in areas between these regions while moving from one region to another region. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to provide a device for quickly turning the light-stimulus laser light on and off.